PLANS
You’re on Pinterest every night creating boards with titles like My Dream Kitchen and Moroccan Style Bathrooms, scouring interior design mags, checking out the House & Garden Hub on The Fold Illawarra and watching The Block on repeat.
Now it’s time to get those plans off your Pinterest boards, out of your head and turned into something tangible. Here’s a list of local architects and draftsmen to get you started with drawing up plans that a council can approve and a builder can follow.
BUDGET
Yeah, yeah….we know. Budgets are boring but totally necessary in the reno game! Once you know what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it, you need to make sure you’ve got the cashola to bring the transformation to life. If you’re not sure where to start, get in touch with a financial planner, bank or mortgage broker to guide you in the right direction.
RED TAPE
If you need council approval for your reno, be prepared to jump through some hoops and put together some additional info for your DA [Development Application] or CDC [Complying Development Certificate].
You may need to get in touch with a building surveyor to help you with additional reports. Oh, and if your reno involves removing a large tree, you’ll most likely need council permission for that too. That forms part of your DA and the council has an arborist that will come out and check out the tree in question. If all goes to plan, you’ll need an arborist or tree lopper to remove the tree and get moving on the construction side of things – you know, the fun stuff!